Forest Products Industry Profile
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Wood and paper products meet the everyday needs of consumers and businesses. They provide materials essential for communication, education, packaging, construction, shelter, sanitation, and protection. The United States produced 88 million tons of paper and paperboard in 1999, over 700 pounds for every man, woman, and child. The forest products industry is also the third-largest industrial consumer of energy, and generates more than 2 billion tons of waste each year—mostly in the form of non-hazardous waste water and sludge. The industry generates 63% of its own energy using its woody waste products and other renewable sources for fuel (bark, wood, and pulping liquor). Since 1972, the industry has reduced its use of fossil fuels and purchased energy by about 2 percent, yet increased its total production by nearly 64 percent. Even so, the forest products industry spent more than $7.6 billion on purchased fuels and electricity in 1998, or just under 3 percent of the value of its shipments that year. For more information, please read the Forest Products Industry Analysis Brief.
The U.S. Forest Products Industry is based on a renewable and sustainable raw material: wood. It practices recovery and recycling in its operations. Its forests help the global carbon balance by taking up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The industry also contributes to land management and natural resource conservation. Following decades as a global leader, the industry is increasingly challenged by its traditional competitors (Canada, Scandinavia, Japan) as well as by emerging nations (Brazil, Chile, Indonesia). Technical challenges facing the industry are centered on using recycled materials cost-effectively, meeting environmental regulations, and reducing energy costs. Other pressures include the diminishing amount of land available for tree farms, and a lack of capital for carrying out long-term research and development projects.
The Forest Products Industry Technology Roadmap (PDF 4.2 MB) Download Adobe Reader was developed with the support of the Agenda 2020 Technology Alliance (a Special Project of the American Forest & Paper Association) and the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Industrial Technologies Program. The purpose of the roadmap is to provide the research community, and their funding organizations, with information on the technical challenges and research needs that are considered priorities by the U.S. forest products industry. The goal is to stimulate collaborative, pre-competitive research, development, and deployment that will provide the foundation for new technology driven business models that enable the industry to meet competitive challenges, while also contributing solutions to strategic national needs.